A healthy garden – one trim at a time

Both literally and figuratively, gardeners often have their hands full in autumn. The end of the growing season heralds the best time to cut back woody plants. Pruning rejuvenates hedges, trees, and shrubs, allowing them to spring back with strong growth, plentiful flowers, and dense foliage. However, the open wounds left on branches can be an entry point for rot and fungal diseases. As such, it’s important to ensure a clean cut by using the right pruning tool.

The right tools for the job

Manual hedge clippers are ideal for the targeted pruning of shrubs and hedges. Regular trims allow these plants to flourish and produce dense foliage. The crowns of fruit trees should be shaped to promote the optimal growth of the fruiting branches. Young fruit trees should be pruned annually, while older ones only need a maintenance trim every few years. Along with saws, loppers are the best tool for this task – but it’s important to choose the right blade for the job. Anvil pruners are the best option for cutting dry and dead wood, while bypass pruners provide a clean and precise cut when working with green wood. Telescopic tree and pruning loppers are the answer for gardeners looking to easily tend to tall and dense trees – while keeping their feet firmly on the ground.

Strengthening plants to protect animals

Hedges, trees, and shrubs are more than just attractive garden design elements – they also provide a habitat for animals, particularly birds. In some countries, it is not allowed to trim hedges and shrubs between 1 March and 30 September in order to allow birds to nest and raise their young . However, gentle shaping and maintenance pruning is still allowed in summer, and even hardwoods can be trimmed with ease, for example with the Pruning Lopper SlimCut. Thanks to the very narrow head of the lopping shears, even branches and twigs in narrow places can be reached and thinned out without any problems.

Special care should be taken when pruning conifers and other evergreen plants, as birds’ nests hidden among their branches can be particularly difficult to spot. Saving some of the pruned wood can also help make the garden more hospitable to visitors: birds can use trimmed twigs to build their nests, while larger branches make excellent hedgehog hotels. Anything left over can be chipped and added to the compost heap, where it helps support soil health by breaking down into nutritious humus.

Whether for gentle shaping or for pruning back, using the right tools at the right time of year supports plant growth and ensures that the garden will remain enjoyable years to come.